Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) - IMDb IMDb 17 January 2017 4:34 PM, UTC NEWS There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error A surly convicted murderer held in permanent isolation redeems himself when he becomes a renowned bird expert. Directors: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC a list of 36 titles created 04 Feb 2012 a list of 40 titles created 08 Oct 2012 a list of 45 titles created 23 Jul 2013 a list of 24 titles created 14 Oct 2013 a list of 40 titles created 04 Feb 2014 Title: Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) 7.8/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin.

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See full summary » Director: John Frankenheimer In Hawaii in 1941, a private is cruelly punished for not boxing on his unit's team, while his captain's wife and second-in-command are falling in love. Director: Fred Zinnemann Edit Storyline In 1912, the notorious and violent prisoner Robert Franklin Stroud is transferred to the Leavenworth Prison convicted for murdering a man. When a guard cancels the visit of his mother, Elizabeth Stroud, due to a violation of the internal rules, he stabs and kills the guard and goes to trial three times. He is sentenced to be executed by the gallows, but his mother appeals to President Woodrow Wilson who commutes his sentence to life imprisonment. However, the warden, Harvey Shoemaker, decides to keep Stroud in solitary for the rest of his life. One day, Stroud finds a sparrow that has fallen from the nest in the yard and he raises the bird until it is strong enough to fly. Stroud finds a motivation for his life raising and caring for birds and becomes an expert in birds. He marries Stella Johnson and together they run a business, providing medicine developed by Stroud.

But a few years after, Stroud is transferred to Alcatraz and has to leave his birds behind. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil now the world will know the story of the most defiant man alive! See more » Genres: 15 September 1962 (Italy) See more » Also Known As: Der Gefangene von Alcatraz See more » Filming Locations: Did You Know? Trivia Cinematographer John Alton was fired two weeks into production and replaced by Burnett Guffey . See more » Goofs During the 1946 escape attempt from Alcatraz, inmates are shown obtaining a revolver and a lever-action rifle from a gun gallery. The firearms kept (and subsequently stolen from the gallery) were a Colt .45 automatic pistol and a 30.06 Springfield Bolt-Action Rifle. See more » Quotes [first lines] Tour guide: ...during which you will see all of the man-made and natural beauties, the most spectacular bay in the world. You'll pass beneath the famous Golden Gate Bridge, considered by most authorities to be one of the most striking structures ever erected by man.

From the bay, you will thrill to the magnificent San Francisco skyline. Your cruise ship, the Harbor King, will circle Alcatraz, a maximum security prison containing the most dangerous criminals in America. It has been the home of ... – See all my reviews "Birdman of Alcatraz" depicts a fictionalized version of the life of Robert Stroud, a real prisoner who served a life sentence in various American prisons, including Alcatraz. As other viewers have commented, the film fictionalizes the life of the real Robert Stroud, who was a murderer and who has been accused of being a pedophile, as well. This fictionalization should not interfere with an intelligent viewer's enjoyment of a fine film. Too, this fictionalization doesn't change the key features of Stroud's case -- a bad man, a man who is shown on screen to be a real murderer, was condemned to death by the state. That much is true from Stroud's real life story, and that much is shown in the film. Stroud was a difficult person who did not treat other people decently. That much was true of the real Stroud and that is shown in the film.

Stroud's mother pled for his life and President Woodrow Wilson commuted his sentence to life. A warden, aware of how difficult Stroud was to control, declared that Stroud be kept in segregation. That much is true in Stroud's real life story, and that is depicted in the film. Finally, Stroud became noteworthy for his research and writing on canaries, after he found an injured bird in the recreation yard. That much was true in Stroud's life, and that is shown in the film. Those who argue that the film is not as accurate as it could be have a point, but the film does follow the facts outlined above. The film is quiet, and black and white, and yet riveting. It is an example of a kind of film-making that is sadly lost today. The film attempts a serious discussion of serious issues: the value of a man, the death penalty, the role of prisons, their wardens and guards, the possibility of human connection, even under conditions of relative isolation. Stroud makes some human contact with his guard, and with a fellow inmate he communicates with via tapping. The film is riveting because its entire cast has a kind of star power that is hard to find today.

Even given his quiet, surly performance in this black and white film, you can't take your eyes off of Burt Lancaster. The supporting cast is equally excellent. This film is a must for anyone interested in cinematic treatments of prisons, of the death penalty, of questions of human worth, even the worth of persons who display their lack of worth in, almost, their every act, and, the kind of films of the late fifties and early sixties that provided intelligent discussions of social issues. It's also a great movie if you just want to be entertained. 56 of 62 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Birdman of Alcatraz | film by Frankenheimer [1962] | Britannica.com film by Frankenheimer [1962] Inception Birdman of Alcatraz, American dramatic film , released in 1962, that made a household name of convicted murderer Robert Stroud , the so-called “Birdman of Alcatraz .” The film is a sentimentalized look at Stroud (played by Burt Lancaster ), who became a self-taught ornithologist during his 54 years in prison .

In addition to his work with birds, the film also focused on Stroud’s relationship with a short-sighted warden (Karl Malden) and with his doting mother (Thelma Ritter). Although based on the biography by Thomas E. Gaddis, Birdman of Alcatraz took liberties with the facts. In reality, Stroud was an unrepentant killer who used the media to cast himself as a heroic figure. In addition, much of Stroud’s work was actually done in Leavenworth Prison, Kansas, not Alcatraz. Despite such inaccuracies, the film is one of the most engrossing prison dramas ever made, largely because of Lancaster’s Academy Award -nominated performance as Stroud. Ritter and Telly Savalas , who portrayed a hard-bitten fellow convict, also earned Oscar nominations.

Production notes and credits Producers: Harold Hecht (executive producer), Stuart Miller, and Guy Trosper Writer: Guy Trosper Edmond O’Brien (Thomas [Tom] Gaddis) Academy Award nominations More about Birdman of Alcatraz 2 References found in Britannica Articles Assorted References role of Lancaster (in Burt Lancaster ) External Links Birdman of Alcatraz - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up) The American dramatic film Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) made a household name of convicted murderer Robert Stroud, the so-called Birdman of Alcatraz. (Alcatraz was a maximum-security prison located on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, off the coast of California.) The movie was director John Frankenheimer’s first popular success. Article Contributors Corrections? Updates? Help us improve this article! Contact our editors with your feedback. MEDIA FOR: You have successfully emailed this. Error when sending the email. Try again later. Edit Mode Submit Tips For Editing We welcome suggested improvements to any of our articles. You can make it easier for us to review and, hopefully, publish your contribution by keeping a few points in mind.

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Close Article Title: Birdman of Alcatraz Website Name: Encyclopædia Britannica Date Published: November 19, 2013 URL: Access Date: January 19, 2017 Share Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) - Episode 30 - Classic Movie Reviews - Snarky Snarky Movie Reviews The Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) Twelve years I've known you, Stroud. Twelve years, sun up and sun down, I've had to look at that frozen mug of yours. And in all that time, never so much as a how-de-do out of you. The Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) is a fictionalized tale of Robert Stroud who raised birds while in prison and discovered cures for bird diseases. This movie showcases the amazing talent of Burt Lancaster. Karl Malden is excellent in the supporting role. Rough Script Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) Today’s film is the Birdman of Alcatraz (1962).

This is a wonderfully inspiring story based on a true story that makes you say “thank god that guy is locked up.” This movie was directed by John Frankenheimer and based on a book by Thomas E. Gaddis. Of course, the Birdman was brought to life by arguably one of America’s greatest actors – Burt Lancaster. Even that name sounds macho. Lancaster played the role of Robert Stroud a lifer in a couple of different prisons. Lancaster was born in Manhattan. All four of his grandparents were immigrants from Northern Ireland. Lancaster grew up on the streets and was a tuff character. He became interested in gymnastics and was a high school athlete. Following his mother’s death, he dropped out of college and later joined the circus at age 19 where he could use his considerable physical skills. He meet his lifelong friend Nick Cravet during his circus period. In 1939, a hand injury forced Lancaster to quit his beloved circus. For a time he worked at a department store and as a singing waiter. When World War II broke out he joined the Army and ended up in the USO entertaining troops. He served in the Italian theater of operation.

Following the war he was not excited to become an actor but he tried out for a stage role and landed the part. With his intense blue eyes, athletic physique, and devilish smile it is not hard to see how he got the role. Although the play ended rather quickly he received his first movie role in The Killers (1946) based on his performance. After one movie he was a start and he kept after it. For a time he played tough guys but also took roles where he could show off his acrobatic talents such as The Crimson Pirate (1952). Before long Lancaster started his own production company and was successful at that as well. In 1953, Lancaster one of his greatest and most well-known roles – 1st Sgt. Warden in From Here to Eternity (1953). The love scene with Lancaster and Deborah Kerr kissing as the wave crashed over them has been parodied and copied endlessly. He should have received an Oscar for this role but he had to wait until Elmer Gantry (1960).

He didn’t slow down a bit starring in The Young Savages (1961) as ADA Hank Bell, Judgement at Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) and Nazi Dr. Ernst Janning with Spencer Tracy and many others, and of course the Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) as Robert Stroud. He continued to make movies through his life and he slowly drifted from the action hero to deeper parts, political roles, or comedies. In 1964, Lancaster was cast in a fairly low budget anti-Nazi movie with Paul Scofield. He showed his acting and acrobatic talent in this movie as a member of the resistance and a railroad yard manager. If I did not already say that From Here to Eternity (1953) was his greatest role I would say this is. Maybe he had more than one. he turned in another stellar performance Seven Days in May (1964). Lancaster took a role in a comedy The Hallelujah Trail (1965), followed by a western hired gunman in The Professionals (1966), then he jumped into the disaster flicks with Airport (1970).

This was followed by a string of first-rate military films including Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977), Go Tell the Spartans (1978), and Zulu Dawn (1979). Of course, he threw in a horror film with The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977) and one of my personal favorites Local Hero (1983) where he played eccentric Felix Happer. He took a role in an over the hill buddy film Tough Guys (1986) and his last film, which is one of his greatest, Field of Dreams (1989) as Dr. Archibald ‘Moonlight’ Graham. Lancaster was politically liberal and worked with and for many good causes including the March on Washington in 1963 fighting McCarthyism, and fighting for AIDS research. He died in 1994 from coronary problems at the age of 80. Karl Malden was cast as Harvey Shoemaker a warden and prison bureau official. I spoke about him Episode 26 – Time Limit (1957) if you want to hear more.

Thelma Ritter was cast as the birdman’s mother – Elizabeth McCartney Stroud. Ritter was trained in high school and attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. However, her career did not really take off. In the 40s she worked in radio. A brief uncredited part in Miracle on 34th Street (1947) changed her life. She received lots of movie work for the next 12 years. She was a major actor and just of a few of her films are: All About Eve (1950), Rear Window (1954), Daddy Long Legs (1955), The Proud and Profane (1956), Pillow Talk (1959), The Second Time Around (1961), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), and How the West Was Won (1962). However, I will single out one other movie, The Misfits (1961). Ritter holds her own at Isabelle Steers cast alongside Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, and Eli Wallach. Sadly Ritter died after a heart attack at the age of 66.

Neville Brand played prison guard Bull Ransom. Of course Bull is what the cons call a guard so I don’t know if he had a real first name. Neville Brand joined the Army in 1939 with plans to be a lifer. He served in World War II in Europe where he was wounded and also received a silver star. For a time it was believed that he was the 4th most decorated soldier of WWII. However when they put him in a training film he says a new path forward. He left the Army and used his GI Bill to study acting. After training, he worked on stage until he got a big break and was cast in D.O.A. (1950). With his gravelly voice and unprepossessing face, he was bound to play the heavy. One of his quotes is “With this kisser, I knew early in the game I wasn’t going to make the world forget Clark Gable.” He was cast as the nemesis of William Holden in Stalag 17 (1953) and was fantastic.

He may be best known for playing the dimwitted Texas Ranger Reese Bennett in TV’s “Laredo” from 1965-1967. With 137 acting credits Brand died at the age of 71. Betty Field was cast as Stella Johnson the love interest/business partner of the birdman. I cover her in Episode 5 – Of Mice and Men (1939) but I gave her a pretty short shrift so I will try to do a little better here. Betty Field was born in Boston in 1913. By 1932 she was enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Art. She spent the 30s working on stage until she got her film break in What a Life (1939). This was followed the same year with her bit in the previously mentioned Of Mice and Men. She jumped between the stage and film but never found the film that would make her a star. In 1949, she was cast as Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby but she was not well received so back to the theater.

Field returned to movies in the 50s a thread bad hardened character in such films as Picnic (1955), starring Kim Novak, Bus Stop (1956) with Marilyn Monroe, and Peyton Place (1957) featuring Lana Turner. One of the roles she is most remembered for is as an older floozie in Coogan’s Bluff (1968) with Clint Eastwood. Sadly she died at age 60 never being noted for the talent she really was. Telly Savalas was prisoner Feto Gomez. Savalas was the child of Greek immigrants. He served in the military during World War II. He was good at playing characters that were a little off like Maggot in The Dirty Dozen (1967) or like Sgt. Guffy in the Battle of the Bulge (1965). With his 127 acting credits he is best known as bald-headed lollipop-sucking detective Theo Kojak or the Players Club commercials he starred in afterward – Who Loves ya, baby. Edmond O’Brien played Thomas E. Gaddis the author of the book about Stroud and the narrator.

O’Brien was born in the Bronx in 1915. It has been reported that he learned magic tricks from his neighbor Harry Houdini. He was in the school theater and major in drama a Columbia University. He started on Broadway debut at 21. He was brought to Hollywood and he was uncredited in his first film – Prison Break (1938). The next year he was in a supporting role as “Gringoire” in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) with Charles Laughton. He joined the Army Air Force during World War II and returned to a solid career as a supporting actor. By 1950, he was given the lead role in D.O.A. (1950). In 1954, he won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Barefoot Contessa (1954). He was nominated for another for his role as a drunken senator in Seven Days in May (1964). O’Brian also appeared in the Sam Peckinpah’s classic The Wild Bunch (1969). Through the 60s and 70s O’B, ien worked more on television.

He died in 1985 and is buried in California. Hugh Marlowe was cast as Leavenworth Warden Albert Comstock. I gave the run down on Marlowe in Episode 28 – World Without End (1956). Story This movie begins with a group of convicts being transported by train. One of the prisoners, Robert Stroud (Burt Lancaster) uses his hat to break open a window to let in fresh air. Gets in trouble by the guard Bull Ransom (Neville Brand) but Stroud is defiant. Let me give you the backstory up to this point in the movie. Stroud ran away from home and an abusive father at the age of 13. By the time he was 18 he was in Alaska pimping for 36-year-old Kitty O’Brien. In 1909, an acquaintance of theirs, bartender Charlie Von Dahmer, didn’t pay Kitty and beat her when she complained. Stroud tracked down Von Dahmer, fought with him, knocked him unconscious and shot him on the ground. Somehow with the help of a lawyer his, mother hired he was only convicted of manslaughter while the police report seems to indicate 1st degree murder.

At the time Alaska was not a state so it was under federal jurisdiction. He was sentenced to 12 years in the federal penitentiary on Puget Sound’s McNeil Island. While at McNeil Island he stabbed at least two prisoners and a hospital orderly. He was in conflict with staff as well as his fellow inmates. For all these crimes he was given 6 more months and was ordered transferred to Leavenworth Prison, Kansas. This is the point where he was on the train. So back to the movie. When the rebellious Stroud arrives at the prison he immediately comes into conflict with Warden Harvey Shoemaker (Malden). Stroud is in the chow hall when a guard writes him up for some infraction. He asks the guard to not write him up so he will be able to visit with his mother. In real life it is his brother that he has not seen in 8 years. So in real life and in the movie Stroud stabs the guard in the heart killing him. They don’t show the trial and most of the this movie is shot in cells and exercise yards often with only the birdman in the scene.

Outside of Stroud’s window they are building a gallows where he can be hung. Stroud’s mother (Thelma Ritter) conducts a publicity campaign and even makes it to the President of the United States. Eight days before he is to be hanged his sentence is commuted to life. His original sentence was that he should be held in solitary until executed and being upset that he was spared the prison system arranged that he would carry out his life sentence in solitary. At this point the only thing that Stroud cares about is contact with his mother. He spends time in his cell with Bull Ransom sitting outside on an apple crate. In the movie, he is taking his exercise walk along and finds a baby sparrow. In real life it was three babies in a nest. Stroud does the bug smashing that has been seen in every prison movie where one of the cons has a bird ref. Shawshank Redemption. Warden Shoemaker leaves to reform the prisoner bureau and Stroud get the new warden (Hugh Marlowe) to allow pets after the trained sparrow puts on a little act. For some reason in real life prisoners could keep pets at this time so Stroud begins acquiring canaries.

The other prisoners quickly follow suit and Stroud takes in more birds as other inmates tire of them. There is a nice scene where the prisoner in the next cell Feto Gomez (Telly Savalas) thinks his bird is sick so he gives it to Stroud for a year to heal it. It turns out that the bird is pregnant and Stroud’s bird count goes up. He eventually releases the sparrow to the wild. In the movie Stroud slowly makes peace with Bull and gets his apple crate so he can build a bird cage. In real life up to 300 birds were flying wildly in Stroud’s cell. It must have smelled like bird hell. In the movie, the sparrow returns to prison just before all of the birds start getting sick with hemorrhagic septicemia a full body blood disease. Stroud begins the testing compounds using the scientific method to isolate a cure. Oddly one of the most heart wrenching parts of this movie is when the sparrow dies of the disease. Slowly and at great cost Stroud finds the cure and begins writing articles in bird journals. He also begins selling his cures through the mail. This is a great burden to the prison that must screen all incoming and outgoing mail.

One day Stroud gets a visit from bird fancier Stella Johnson (Betty Field) and they immediately go into business together selling bird remedies. He real name was Della Mae Jones. The authorities try to limit his birds but Stella helps him run a campaign with the bird lovers and he ends up getting another cell and scientific equipment. This starts a riff between Stroud and his mother. In the movie Stroud marries Stella in a common law ceremony as part of a loop hold for the Louisiana Purchase treaty. In real life he did it because Kansas law prevented the transfer of prisoners married in Kansas. At this point in real life and in the movie Stroud’s mother broke with him and began publicly stating that her son should remain in prison. With everything going fine in the prison they come in and tell Stroud that he is being transferred to Alcatraz and he has 10 minutes to get ready. Bull Ransom gets teary at the thought of his long term charge leaving. Stroud has to leave all of his birds and equipment behind. In real life he was caught making booze with his equipment and the prison used it as an excuse to get rid of a real pain in the ass.

Stroud is shipped to Alcatraz where he cannot have pets. That’s right he was the Birdman of Leavenworth not the Birdman of Alcatraz. Alcatraz or the rock as it is known was a maximum security prison built for the worst of the worst. When Stroud arrived the prison warden was Shoemaker. On the rock Stroud spent 6 more years in solitary. While on the rock Stroud wrote a history of the US penal system but the warden would not allow it to be published. In the movie they show Stroud as ending a prison riot in 1946 and Shoemaker saying he can trust the man because he never lied to him. Nothing like this ever happened. During the real riot the guards threw grenades down into the cell blocks killing the riot. If you take the tour at this National Park Service unit you can still see the chunks blown out of the cement floor. The movie ends with the aging Stroud being transferred off the rock after 17 years. At the dock he meets Thomas E. Gaddis (Edmond O’Brien and narrator), the author of the book about him.

Post movie Stroud was transferred to the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri where he died at the age of 73. Burt Lancaster made this essentially psychopathic killer seem sympathetic. Those who knew him said he was a really mean guy and worst than that a trouble causing jerk. The movie ends with some facts about how long Stroud was in solitary. World-Famous Short Summary – Solitary confinement makes a prisoner go to the birds Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) | THE FILM YAP Heroes of the Zeroes: The Fantastic Mr. Fox 297 views 0 likes 2 comments Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) You have rated this Good movie, but they got the title wrong: Robert Stroud kept and studied birds for decades while imprisoned in Leavenworth. When he got transferred to Alcatraz, he was not allowed to have pets or scientific equipment. The “Birdman” spent 17 years at Alcatraz, with nary a bird to call his own. But I guess the title “Birdman of Leavenworth” doesn’t sing as sweetly.

This 1962 drama about a two-time killer who was saved from the hangman’s noose to serve a life term studying birds is fairly typical of its era. The truth — that Robert Stroud was a pretty hateful and despicable guy who also happened to be brilliant — is rewritten and glammed up by Hollywood. Played by Burt Lancaster, one of the most handsome men to ever grace a screen, Stroud is turned into a symbol of the nobility of man, and the wrongness of locking that away in a dank corner when he could be contributing to society. Although, given the real-life narrative of Stroud’s incarceration — which the film follows fairly accurately — it’s pretty hypocritical to spend the first third or so of the movie in which Stroud and his mother fight to prevent him from getting the death penalty, and then spending the last two-thirds sermonizing about awful it is to deny him parole. When Stroud stabs a prison guard to death in the cafeteria because he insists on reporting Stroud for a minor infraction, thus preventing him from seeing his mother, it’s presented as a moment of supreme oppression — against Stroud.

That guard — nay, the very penal system — is just a big ol’ meanie, so as the music soars and director John Frankenheimer sends his camera into opera-esque swoops and swoons, we’re meant to see him as the hero striking back against a corrupt system. Stroud goes on to mellow out quite a bit, becomes a leading authority on the anatomy of birds, and even ends the movie by heroically ending a prison riot, sagely advising the hot young guns that all life is precious. But never once does he express any remorse for his crimes. Although I don’t agree with the socio-political conclusions “Birdman of Alcatraz” steers its audience toward, I still enjoyed it. It’s a skillfully-made film by a top-notch filmmaker who could still crank out a lean, mean thriller like “Ronin” at age 68. There’s a really nice crop of supporting performances. Karl Malden plays Harvey Shoemaker, Stroud’s first and last warden, who vows to keep him locked in solitary until the end of his days.

Their relationship starts out adversarial, morphs into something more or less civil, but retains a steel edge of enmity even into their old age. A young Telly Savalas, who started and ended on television, plays Gomez, a dim-witted but amiable fellow prisoner who gets caught up in Stroud’s affection for birds, and starts keeping some of his own. Thelma Ritter plays Stroud’s mother, who stood by him, even petitioning President Woodrow Wilson to commute his death sentence, but cut ties when he marries his business partner (Betty Field) to generate publicity. (Stroud sold birds and medicine that he made right in his cell.) Neville Brand gives a really touching performance as Bull, a crotchety guard who forms a grudging respect for Stroud. On the day they come to pluck Stroud out of Leavenworth to transfer him to Alcatraz and back under Shoemaker’s control, Bull shakes his hand and calls Stroud a friend. Because the film has patiently taken its time to sketch their relationship over the years, the moment feels true and right. It’s the sort of thing a lot of modern filmmakers skimp on now.

Narrative film lends itself better to fiction, because facts almost never have a satisfying story arc. Real life is inconvenient. The real Robert Stroud was diagnosed as psychotic and possibly was a pedophile, and his bird-filled cell was a hygiene nightmare. But good stories need inspiration, and the life of Stroud certainly provided that. 4 Yaps Fernando F. Croce CinePassion Frankenheimer's compelling, if slightly fictionalized biopic of Robert Stroud is extremely wel acted by Burt Lancaster and the rest of the cast, including Thelma Ritter and Telly Savalas. January 8, 2011 | Rating: B+ | Full Review… Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com This preachy bio pic is a hokey take on the birdman with Lancaster being misused on every occasion. July 16, 2007 | Rating: 1/5 Felix Vasquez Jr. Film Threat Prison biopic that's more interested in its liberal message about prison reform working for redemption than in anything else.

February 12, 2007 | Rating: C+ | Full Review… Dennis Schwartz Ozus' World Movie Reviews Even with its limping screenplay and general drift toward competence rather than excellence, Birdman does pull us well enough into its fistful of compelling characters. August 9, 2006 | Rating: C+ | Full Review… Robert Stroud - The Birdman of Alcatraz Official Bookstore Robert "the Birdman of Alcatraz" Stroud Robert Stroud, who was better known to the public as the "Birdman of Alcatraz," was probably the most famous inmate ever to reside on Alcatraz. In 1909 he brutally murdered a bartender who had allegedly failed to pay a prostitute for whom Stroud was pimping in Alaska. After shooting the bartender to death, Stroud took the man's wallet to ensure that he and the prostitute would receive compensation for her services. In 1911 Stroud was convicted of manslaughter, and he was sent to serve out his sentence at McNeil Island, a Federal penitentiary in Washington State. His record at McNeil indicates that he was violent and difficult to manage.

On one occasion, Stroud viciously assaulted a hospital orderly who he insisted had reported him to the administration for attempting to procure narcotics through intimidation and threats. On another occasion he stabbed a fellow inmate. Robert Stroud following his arrival at U.S.P. Alcatraz in December of 1942 Robert Stroud at Alcatraz in October 1951 Shortly after receiving an additional six-month sentence for his hostile actions, Stroud was transferred to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in Kansas, due to ceaseless complaints about his threats toward other inmates, and also because of overcrowding in the prison. In 1916, after Stroud was refused a visit with his brother, he stabbed a guard to death in front of eleven hundred inmates in the prison Mess Hall. He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death by hanging, and he was ordered to await his death sentence in solitary confinement. His mother desperately pleaded for his life, and finally in 1920 President Woodrow Wilson commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment without parole. As a result of Stroud's unpredictable and violent outbursts, Warden T.W.

Morgan directed that Stroud be permanently placed in the segregation unit, to live out his sentence in total solitude. Over the course of Stroud's thirty years of imprisonment at Leavenworth, he developed a keen interest in canaries, after finding an injured bird in the recreation yard. Stroud was initially allowed to breed birds and maintain a lab inside two adjoining segregation cells, since it was felt that this activity would provide for productive use of his time. As a result of this privilege, Stoud was able to author two books on canaries and their diseases, having raised nearly 300 birds in his cells, carefully studying their habits and physiology, and he even developed and marketed medicines for various bird ailments. Although it is widely debated whether the remedies he developed were effective, Stroud was able to make scientific observations that would later benefit research on the canary species. However, after several years of Stroud's informal research, prison officials discovered that some of the equipment he had requested was actually being used to construct a still to make an alcoholic brew. In 1942 Stroud was transferred to Alcatraz, where he spent the next seventeen years - six years in segregation in D Block, and eleven years in the prison hospital.

In 1959 he was transferred to the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri, and there on November 21, 1963, he was found dead from natural causes by convicted spy, close friend, and fellow inmate Morton Sobell. Stroud had never been permitted to see the movie in which Burt Lancaster portrayed him as a mild-mannered and humane individual, but "Birdman of Alcatraz" later earned Lancaster an Academy Award nomination for best actor. For a more detailed narrative on Robert Stroud please see the full-length article published on this web site, or follow the link for more information on the book Alcatraz - A Definitive History, which can be ordered directly from this site. This publication contains a comprehensive chronicle of Robert Stroud's life and imprisonment. In addition, it includes an extensive archive of rare Alcatraz related documents and photographs. Former Alcatraz Correctional Officer George DeVincenzi standing outside of Stroud's Alcatraz ward cell in 2011. George guarded Stroud and to pass time the two played checkers through the cell bars.

Movie Review - - The Screen: 'Birdman of Alcatraz':Burt Lancaster Stars in Role of Prisoner Film Drama Offered at Several Theatres - NYTimes.com Movie Review July 19, 1962 The Screen: 'Birdman of Alcatraz':Burt Lancaster Stars in Role of Prisoner Film Drama Offered at Several Theatres By A.H. WEILER Published: July 19, 1962 "BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ," which landed at the Astor, Trans-Lux Eighty-fifth Street and other neighborhood theatres yesterday, is a tribute to the iconoclastic courage needed to break the mold of the normal prison film drama. As the dramatization of the record of an inmate rare, if not unique, in the annals of American penology, it leaves part of the picture in shadow, but it is, nevertheless, a thoughtful yet powerful portrait that cleaves to the heart and mind despite its omissions. Like Oscar Wilde's prisoner of Reading Gaol, this "Birdman" stirs the emotions and remains in memory. The dedication of Thomas E. Gaddis, who wrote the biography of Robert E.

Stroud on which "Birdman" is based, as well as the devotion of Guy Trosper, the scenarist; John Frankenheimer, the director, and the producers and Burt Lancaster, who plays the prisoner of the title, are obvious and effective. The drama they have elicited from the as yet unfinished true story is both moving and persuasive even though all the facts do not appear on the screen. One wonders why a 73-year-old man, incarcerated since 1909 for two murders, of which time more than forty-three years were spent in solitary confinement, has not been paroled by Federal authorities, including the Attorney General. One questions if they did not base their denials on circumstances not noted in the largely good behavior of the "Birdman" in the film. But these are doubts that do not vitiate the generally forceful special pleading and stark drama involved in the history of a basically unlettered man whose rehabilitation was effected in a remarkable and, perhaps, unprecedented manner. Except for a climactic, abortive prison break, "Birdman of Alcatraz" avoids the norm and has been fashioned with subtlety and care for characterization that is memorable and refreshing. Mr.

Frankenheimer's direction concentrates on the development of his hero, a glum, seemingly unregenerate lifer, saved from death by the pleas of his mother to Mrs. Woodrow Wilson, into a self-made scientific researcher and a man whose existence thereby took on meaning and substance. The direction and Mr. Lancaster's acting are notable for realism, nuance and restraint. A viewer is prone to believe that the fledgling sparrow he finds as he takes his lonely exercise will move this stony-hearted jailbird out of his despair. An observer continues to be fascinated by his interest in keeping it alive, by his desire to learn more about the disease that kills some of the many feathered friends he is permitted to raise; his relationship with another inmate, played in inarticulate but entirely telling fashion by Telly Savalas. One cheers for the idea that, at long last, his profound love of these dumb creatures, a love accentuated by his confinement, results in his development as a man of science and the author of a definitive tome on the illnesses of birds and their cures. In switching his hero from Leavenworth to Alcatraz, where, oddly enough, he never kept birds, Mr.

Frankenheimer loses some of the impact of the intimacy that makes his drama so striking. Even though a jailbreak is a riotous, muscular highlight of the proceedings, it is, despite this troupe's efforts, standard stuff and pallied in comparison with the genuinely human drama that precedes it. And, his meeting with the author of the book when he leaves Alcatraz and the solitary life for a Federal penetentiary in Missouri, is done in subdued but touching style. Granted that Mr. Lancaster is the virtual king of all he surveys in this saga, he does, however, contribute an outstanding performance marked by a restraint, vitality and honesty that make it one of his best. As his mother, Thelma Ritter is merely a weak and somewhat lachrymose character. However, Neville Brand, as a tough guard who grows to understand and admire Mr. Lancaster; Karl Malden, as the frustrated warden with whom our hero is constantly at odds, and Betty Field, as Mr. Lancaster's wife who devotedly sells his bird medicines to aid his cause, give him exemplary support.

In treating of a rara avis, the producers of "Birdman of Alcatraz" may be propagandizing but also have come up with a generally arresting and unusually fine film drama. The Cast BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ; screen play by Guy Trosper; based on the book by Thomas E. Gaddis; directed by John Frankenheimer; produced by Stuart Miller and Mr. Trosper; a Norma Production presented by Harold Hecht and released through United Artists. At the Astor, Broadway and Forty-fifth Street, the Trans-Lux, Eighty-fifth Street at Madison Avenue and neighborhood theatres. Running time: 147 minutes. Robert E. Stroud . . . . . Burt Lancaster Harvey Shoemaker . . . . . Karl Malden

Question: Who played Robert Stroud in the 1962 film The Birdman of Alcatraz
Answer: Burt Lancaster